Commute to the Pentagon & Fort Meade (Arlington, Burke: real estate, to rent)

[padillab74]

Our family is moving to NCR spring of 2018. My wife will work at the Pentagon and I will be at Fort Meade. Any suggestions on where to live that has good schools and recommended transportation options?

[ChristineVA]

Need to start with your housing budget first. Do you have a range?

[djplourd]

There are plenty of options for commuting to the Pentagon:
Request Rejected.

Not so many for commuting to Fort Meade. If you don't want to drive the best option is probably a van pool.

[ersatz]

Originally Posted by djplourd

There are plenty of options for commuting to the Pentagon
Not so many for commuting to Fort Meade. If you don't want to drive the best option is probably a van pool.

The MARC train from DC to Baltimore (Penn Line) stops in Odenton. There's a shuttle from the Odenton MARC station to Ft. Meade that stops several places on base. See Welcome to Meade Ride | MeadeRide for different Ft. Meade commuting options.

Although we are a NoVA forum, I recommend you and your wife consider living in Maryland to split up the commuting time required. (I see you also posted in the MD forum.) The Pentagon can be reached by the Metro Blue Line. The MARC train originates from Union Station downtown and stops in New Carrolton (inside the I-495 beltway) as well as Seabrook (outside the beltway). Housing prices are likely to be somewhat cheaper though your taxes will be higher. There are many decent places to live east of the beltway though you will need to research the neighborhoods carefully as some areas can be sketchier.

I usually recommend using Zillow to screen real estate. If you don’t know the area, use Trulia. Trulia’s Local Scoop feature will provide you with a color coded overview of the area to see real estate price trends, crime etc. As far as schools go, many people use https://www.greatschools.org/ to screen schools. Don’t take that as gospel, it’s a starting point. When you find a property you may be interested in, CD’s main site provides statistics from state to city down to the microneighborhood area. Then, you can ask specific questions in the appropriate CD subforum.

Welcome to the DC metro area.

[padillab74]

I apologize for leaving out some important details. We plan to rent as we will most likely only live there 2-3 years. Our budget is between $3-4K a month. Looking for at least 3br/2ba and 2 car garage. We have a middle school aged child so good schools are important to us. I am more familiar with NOVA areas but no very little about Maryland. My initial thoughts are to live in NOVA so my wife has a shorter commute to the Pentagon and I will make the long drive to Ft. Meade. I appreciate all the feedback you can provide.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by padillab74

I apologize for leaving out some important details. We plan to rent as we will most likely only live there 2-3 years. Our budget is between $3-4K a month. Looking for at least 3br/2ba and 2 car garage. We have a middle school aged child so good schools are important to us. I am more familiar with NOVA areas but no very little about Maryland. My initial thoughts are to live in NOVA so my wife has a shorter commute to the Pentagon and I will make the long drive to Ft. Meade. I appreciate all the feedback you can provide.

Thanks for the details. If you are going to live in Virginia, then I would be sure to live as close to DC or I495 as you can. It will be great for your wife and so-so for you, but if you are near the DC/MD line, it won't be horrible. If you were in Arlington, you could cut through DC and head toward the BW Parkway for your ride to Ft. Meade. You could also look at areas such as the Mt. Vernon/Ft Hunt area which is a decent commute for your wife and puts you close the I495 to head up the Maryland side.

I would avoid the top side of the Beltway at all costs.

Maryland can be iffy. I do know a few people who have had split commutes just like yours. They did tend to live in the Columbia, MD or Howard County area of Maryland close to the PG county line (I believe Laurel is split between two counties). That was a pretty good drive for the Ft. Meade person and a rougher commute for the Pentagon person.

[Old Dominionite]

Originally Posted by padillab74

I apologize for leaving out some important details. We plan to rent as we will most likely only live there 2-3 years. Our budget is between $3-4K a month. Looking for at least 3br/2ba and 2 car garage. We have a middle school aged child so good schools are important to us. I am more familiar with NOVA areas but no very little about Maryland. My initial thoughts are to live in NOVA so my wife has a shorter commute to the Pentagon and I will make the long drive to Ft. Meade. I appreciate all the feedback you can provide.

If you’re set on Virginia, then I recommend looking at West Springfield or Burke. Both are family-oriented suburbs with excellent public schools and good access to the Pentagon — either by express bus or an established form of ad hoc carpooling known as “slugging.”

No matter where you settle in Virginia, you’ll be faced with a long commute to Fort Meade, but folks do it. I think driving would be your best option — over the Wilson Bridge and up the Beltway to the B/W Parkway or I-95.

You may have some difficulty finding a SFH with a 2-car garage.